MacCast 04.16.2008 - Show #223
Media/Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
* Mandaandthemarbles.com
www.mandaandthemarbles.com
V Sponsor
V Smile on My Mac
* Textexpander
www.smileonmymac.com
* "The customizable typing shortcut utility - if you're not using it, you're wasting time."
V News
V iPhone 2.0 analysis triggers speculation
* An electronista report cites a Greek iPhone site that analyzed text strings in the latest iPhone 2.0 firmware update.
* References to 3G chipsets
* A2DP and "HeadphoneBT" entries that suggest support for stereo Bluetooth audio.
* References include an allusion to "RoleGps," implying GPS navigation
* "Google411," associated with Google Maps for text or voice directory lookup.
* A new, clearly identifiable "BRICKED_AND_SIM_LOCKED_STRING", suggests Apple may also be taking its first steps to actively counter unlocking attempts.
V References to Nike+ equipment have been dropped, strange as Stuff.tv's Mark Wilson claimed later that Nike told him they were working to bring the tech to the iPhone and iPod Touch.
* All but confirmed that the Nike+ will be coming to iPhone and iPod Touch
* Will be able to use wi-fi to send stats directly to Nike web site
V iPhone 3G Chipset revealed?
* An Electronista reports sites a Taiwan "Economic Daily News" daily piece that reports to have details on the new chipset for the 3G iPhone
* The claim is that United Microelectronics Corporation has been contracted to manufacture the PMB8878 Infineon chipset for the next gen iPhone. Current gen uses an Infineon chip produced by TaiwanSemiconductor
* This supports data from the latest iPhone beta firmware that suggests the baseband chip in the new iPhone will be the PMB8878, known by the Apple codename SGOLD3.
V Chip features include:
* 3G Internet access over HSDPA
* support double-speed 7.2Mbps downloads (not currently available on AT&T in US)
* supports WCDMA for areas like Korea and Japan that don't have HSDPA.
* Does NOT include the HSPA spec for 3G which allows for faster uploads.
* Supports 5MP cameras, 2 way video calling, and general media decoding.
* No dates for production were given
V Rumors are also rumbling of Macbook and Macbook Pro updates soon
* AL Macbooks and new black and aluminum look for Pro models
* Images surfaced, but general consensus is they are faked.
* Better environmentally.
V Apple Releases Pro Applications Update
* For Final Cut Studio, the newly released Final Cut Server, Logic Studio, and Shake.
* FinalCut Pro now supports the Sony XDCAM HD422 video format, along with bug fixes and updates.
* Compressor 3.03 adds features to support Apple TV export including support for Dolby Digital Professional (AC-3) tracks (with 5.1-channel surround sound).
V Apple beefs up new legal team
* According to Apple Insider Apple has added former HP Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Charles Charnas to it's legal team
* Has filled a seat left vacant in 2000 by Michael Wyatt
* Charnas' will focus on intellectual property and strategic acquisitions
V Company offers OS X compatible clones
* But for how long? Charles may have something to say about this.
V Florida based company Pystar is selling the OpenMac OpenComputer
* A $550 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo PC with 250 GB hard drive, 2 GB DDR2 RAM, Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics, DVD+/-R drive and 4 USB ports
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT and Firewire available as upgrades
V Using EFI emulation the company claims it is "PC hardware capable of running unmodified OS X Leopard kernels"
* using the EFI v8 emulator from author Netkas without permission and in direct violation of his license.
V Lots of investigation going on but many things are fishy
* Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware and others investigate
* Site down, credit card processing down
* Changing physical address 3 times
* Owners Rodolfo and Roberto Pedraza claim to be legit.
* Using technology from the OSX86 project without permission
* Forget about upgrading they claim some updates are safe and others not and recommend, "when in doubt don't update it"
* Direct violation of the OS X EULA.
V Apple confirms graphics glitches in notebooks
* According to Apple Insider Apple has admitted to troubles with graphics corruption on the latest Penryn Macbooks and 15" Macbook Pros.
* Flickering during Quicktime playback
* "Washed out" graphics
* Graphics corruption when scrolling in Safari, Mail and other apps that use WebKit.
* Some reports that the upcoming 10.5.3 update fixes some issues, but not all yet.
V US Apple shipment rise, while PCs fall
* According to recent numbers from Gartner
* Apple shipped 1 million systems in the 1st quarter of 08, a 32.5% increase over the same quarter last year.
* By contrast total PC shipments only saw a 3% increase, in fact some manufactureres like Acer saw am 18% drop.
* Apple's growth was enough to garner it a 6.6% share of the overall PC market, up from 5.2% last year.
V Safari PWNage Patched
* Apple released Safari 3.1.1 for Mac and Windows
* "This update is recommended for all Safari users and includes improvements to stability, compatibility and security"
V Sponsor
V Circus Ponies
* Notebook
www.circusponies.com
* Free 30-day trial
V Feedback, Comments and Commentary
V Removing Files from Old TimeMachine Backups
* Daniel points out that to reclaim space from old TimeMachine backups you can remove specific files and folders from prior backups.
* Useful in freeing up space after archiving a project, or adding a new exclusion.
* Activate TimeMachine
* Select the file or folder you want to delete from the backups.
* Click the "Action" icon in the toolbar (cog). Choose "Delete all backups of [filename]".
* There is also a "Delete Backup", this will remove that entire back for that hour, day, whatever.
V Review: Audioengine W1
* Premium wireless audio Adapter
audioengineusa.com
* 2 wi-fi adapters, 1 send, 1 receive.
* Connect via 1/8" mini jack or 1/8" to RCA adapter
* No batteries, power from USB, included adapter, or your supplied adapter (iPod).
* 100 ft. range, no delay.
* Works with any device that can send audio via line out. Receive on powered speakers or receiver.
* Great for hooking up rear surrounds.
* Mac sees it as an USB audio output in the Sound Preferences
* Power could be an issue. Great if you use Audioengine A5 speakers with on board power.
* A bit pricey at $149.95
V Some other ways to use Windows browsers on a Mac
* Matt suggests using CrossOver Mac (USD$59.95), run Windows apps without Windows. Check compatibility list on their site.
www.codeweavers.com
* Sandro knows some realtors in his area use a USD$100/yr service from True North Technology called Northstar. Software as a Service. Uses X11.
northstaraccess.net
V Use your Mac as a WiFi hotspot
* Listener Malcom reminded me of this trick
* Instructions for Leopard, works in Tiger also, but steps may be different.
* Mac sure you Mac is wired (Ethernet) and has an internet connection
* Go to System Preferences-->Sharing and select Internet Sharing
* Choose Share your connection from Built-in Ethernet and To computers using Airport
* Under AirPort Options... you can select the network name (SSID), wi-fi channel, and enable WEP encryption.
* Can also do a wi-fi to Ethernet share, acting as a wi-fi bridge.
V Create an ad-hoc computer-to-computer network to share files.
* Click the wi-fi icon in the menubar and choose the "Create Network..." option.
V Too many Airports
* With the latest Airport Utility update Harold noticed that depending on what Airport utilities he was looking at he would see different MAC addresses for Airport
* Under Airport Utility it would show one IP address, MAC address, and version number
* Under System Preferences-->Network it would display something different
* One is the base station and one is the internal airport card.
V My thoughts on FileVault
* Joey would like to know what i think of FileVault.
* In Security System Preferences in Leopard. Only one click under the "FileVault" tab, "Turn on FileVault"...
* Encrypts the entire home folder using AES encryption.
V Create an encrypted sparse image using Disk Utility and selectively save data on that
* Open Disk Utility (Applications-->Utilities-->Disk Utility)
* Choose File-->New-->Blank Disk Image... or Click the "New Image..." icon in the toolbar
* Set volume name, volume size, volume format (Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)). Set encryption (128 or 256 AES), partition settings (Apple Partition Map or GUID), set format to sparse disk image (sparse image bundle is TimeMachine thing).
* Mount the image and copy the data you want to secure to it and then unmount (eject). Mount to access files or add more to it.
V Lots of other options in the 'General' tab of Security in Leopard
* Require password to wake from screen saver and sleep
* Disable automatic login
* Log out after inactivity
* Disable Apple Remote IR port, since it can be used to change boot process. Pair and unpair remote too.
V Enable menu bar item to screenlock your Mac
* 1) Launch the Keychain Access Utility (Applications-->Utilities-->Keychain Access)
* 2) Under the Keychain Access menu choose "Preferences"
* 3) In the "General" tab, check the "Show Status in Menu Bar" option. You should now see a small padlock icon in the menubar on the top right of your screen.
* 4) Quit Keychain Access
* You can now click on the padlock icon in the menu bar and choose "Lock Screen" and safely walk away from your Mac.
* You can also enable the system to auto-lock the screen by changing the settings in the "Security" System preferences.
V How can I use Apple TV with Standard def TV?
* Michael was wondering how I do it and if he could.
* There are some caveats and restrictions
* Apple TV will support a 480i resolution
* Need to have component inputs
* If you TV doesn't offer a way to "squish" the image to a 16:9 aspect ratio the images will be stretched.
* Text is also small and hard to read on some areas.
* Could also have an EDTV (480p).
V Closing
V Podcast Marketplace
V Thanks to my sponsors
* Audible.com
audiblepodcast.com/maccast
* Circus Ponies, Notebook
circusponies.com
* Smile on my Mac, Textexpander
smileonmymac.com
* Faronics, Deep Freeze
faronics.com/mac
V Keep emails coming. Audio comments.
* maccast@gmail.com
V 281-622-4269 or 281-Mac-I-Am-9
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* MacCast Forum
forum.maccast.com
V New music, "Rockin' Our Sales" by Bruce ServicePack and the Vista Street Band
* An internal Microsoft sales team music video appears to be designed to generate enthusiasim for Vista SP1, but Microsoft spokesmen say it was just a spoof. Either way it's pretty embarassing.
* CEO Steve Ballmer this week called the Vista OS “a work in progress”. After 5 years of development it's still a "work in progress"?
* Video on YouTube
Our Ecosystem Rocks!
V EOL: Numb3rs Get a Mac Spoof
* Spoof ad for CBS TV Series Numb3rs
Numb3rs Get a Mac Spoof